


introduction to first aid

by brerediddy



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, could be platonic if you really want it to be, i forgot how good it was, not super slash but also like they're in love, troy gets in a fight, yeah i'm rewatching community in 2019 so sue me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:07:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21766561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brerediddy/pseuds/brerediddy
Summary: troy gets in a fight and ends up at abed's place afterwards.
Relationships: Troy Barnes & Abed Nadir, Troy Barnes/Abed Nadir
Comments: 7
Kudos: 211





	introduction to first aid

**Author's Note:**

> okay hi! so this is the first trobed i've written in like vaguely 7 years and it might be ooc and not great but i just needed to write something! i just got to 21st century romance (the valentines day ep in s2) and i'm weak y'all. how have i not revisited this show before now? 
> 
> ANYWAY if you read this and like it pls lmk down in the comments! i haven't written fic in so long bc i've been so busy with school but i was literally aching for it.

To say Abed was concerned would be an understatement. Troy was supposed to show up thirty-three minutes ago for their Batman marathon. He had been late before, sure, but had always communicated his tardiness with Abed. 

This was new. 

Abed sat on his couch, the glow of the TV reflecting off of his face. Theme music played softly from the title screen, minute-long orchestrations on constant repeat. He checked his phone again. Nothing. 

Maybe Troy was blowing him off. Abed couldn’t think of any reason why Troy would be mad at him, but he knew that he didn’t always pick up on signals. It was possible that he missed something. Abed’s brow furrowed, looking down at his hands and recounting the events of the day on his fingers. Was there anything that seemed off? Anything he said that may have made Troy upset? 

In the middle of this business, a knock thudded against his door. Abed instantly let out a breath, the tension in his shoulders relaxing. It was time for their marathon. Everything was fine. Their friendship was fine, Troy wasn’t mad at him, and they could enjoy the movies in peace. 

Abed made his way to the door, not bothering to check the peephole, and opened it to find Troy in a different state than he expected. 

“You’re late,” Abed said, the words coming out of his mouth before he fully processed the image in front of him. Troy stood stiff with his hands in his pockets. His head was down. Abed noticed a small drop of blood on the collar of his best friend’s sweater and honed in on it, trying to figure out if it had been there before or if it was a new stain. 

Troy said, “Abed,” and looked up at the other boy to reveal his face. He had a black eye and hints of blood under his nose. His lip was split but that didn’t stop him from chewing on it worriedly. 

Abed’s eyes widened, taking in the sight in front of him for too long before saying anything. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, man, I’m okay. I’m cool.” Troy had barely gotten the sentence out before his face started to crumple. “I’m cool.” He launched himself at Abed, wrapping his arms around the taller boy’s shoulders. He turned his face away from Abed’s shirt—he knew that stains bothered his best friend—and rested his cheek on Abed’s chest. 

Even though they were more affectionate than other best friends, Abed still wasn’t really sure what to do. He awkwardly rubbed at Troy’s back, trying to keep the other from fully descending into tears. He gently pulled them both back inside, keeping his arms extended around Troy as he pushed the door closed. 

“What happened?” His voice was low and soft in Troy’s ear. The shorter boy’s hands curled in the fabric of Abed’s t-shirt. 

“I was on my way here and this group of guys stopped me. I guess they knew me from high school.” 

Abed pulled away from him, eyes scanning up and down his face. His expression softened, mouth curving into a small frown. He reached for Troy’s arm, guiding him to the couch. Once Troy was seated, he opened his dresser and pulled out a small first aid kit. Abed sat down next to his best friend, watching him carefully. The first aid kit sat, unopened, on his lap. 

“Thanks,” Troy said, reaching for the kit. He opened it up and pulled out a roll of gauze. He got to work trying to wrap the bloodied knuckles of his right hand, but he couldn’t quite get it lined up right. 

“Let me,” Abed interjected, taking the gauze from Troy. His long fingers made easy work of the task, finishing up by knotting the fabric and tucking it underneath the wrapping. He then grabbed a tissue from beside the couch, leaning in to dab the rest of the blood away from his face. Troy was silent, letting his friend take care of him. After he was cleaned up, the taller boy stood up once more to put the first aid kit back where it belonged. It was put away and then he reached into his tiny freezer and pulled out an ice pack. “Here,” he said, holding it out to Troy. “It’ll help your eye.”

“Thanks, Abed,” he responded, accepting the ice pack gratefully. He pressed it against his eye, hissing a little bit when the cold sunk in. 

“Do you need anything else?” Abed asked as he sat down again, a little closer to Troy this time. 

“No, I’m okay.” Troy closed the small distance between them, leaning over to rest his head against the other man’s shoulder. “Sorry I was late to our movie night.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, focusing on Troy’s steady breathing. “Who did this to you?”

“Like I said, I think they knew me in high school or something. I must have pissed them off back in the day,” he said, shrugging slightly. “I guess I thought everyone liked me.”

“It’s impossible to be liked by everyone. I think ninety-nine percent of the school liked you.” He shifted a little so Troy’s head was tucked into the crook of his neck. “What did they want?”

“They said they wanted payback for all the times I ignored them or thought I was better than them or whatever. And I told them I was sorry about that and I’m really trying to be better about not being so shallow anymore and stuff but they didn’t let me finish. The security guards had to pull us apart.” 

“I’m sorry,” Abed said, his voice soft. He lifted his arm to wrap around Troy, holding him tightly. “Should we tell Jeff?”

“Maybe tomorrow. I don’t feel like talking to anyone tonight.”

“But you’re talking to me.”

“You’re different. You’re my best friend. After it was over, all I could think about was getting to you.”

“Really?”

“Really really.” Troy moved so that his arm circled around Abed’s back. “I knew you would take care of me.”

“It’s what best friends do, right?”

Troy smiled. “Right.”

* * *

Hours later, Abed turned off the television and shifted his attention to the sleeping boy tucked into his side. He wasn’t sure how Troy could be comfortable with his legs bunched up underneath him, but he also knew that he didn’t want to risk waking him up. It had been a long night for him. 

Abed let his eyes examine his best friend, focusing on the bruises and the gauze and the pain he knew Troy would be feeling as soon as he woke up. He wasn’t the best at emotions, but he could feel a bit of hatred for Troy’s attackers rising up in his chest. As he pushed the feelings away, he pulled a blanket from the end of the couch higher up on the shorter man’s body to cover him up. Abed went about tucking him in as best he could with one hand. He wasn’t entirely comfortable sitting straight up on the couch, but he wasn’t about to move Troy. 

Oh, well. It wouldn’t be the first time they had fallen asleep like this anyway. 

Abed leaned back into the cushions, resting his head against the back of the couch. He lifted a hand to rest on Troy’s hairline, stroking softly. 

Eventually, his breathing evened out to match his best friend’s. Both boys dreamt peacefully, tangled up in each other.


End file.
